New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) said Monday the New York Police Department (NYPD) will be required to release within 30 days all audio and video footage of incidents where officers use force.
“Effective immediately, the NYPD’s 24,000 body cameras now have a mandatory 30 day release policy,” the mayor tweeted.
The NYPD will be required to release footage of incidents that meet one of three criteria: when an officer discharges a firearm that did or could have hit someone, when an officer discharges a taser in a way that results in death or substantial bodily harm or when an officer uses force that results in death or great bodily harm.
“I want everyone to understand that this is a good thing for everyone involved. We hope to never have the kinds of incidents to have to release this footage obviously, or very, very rarely in the case of when an officer needs to use their weapon,” de Blasio said at a press conference announcing the policy.
“But when one of these three criteria is met, it is crucial that the information comes out promptly, and that people have faith it will come out and it will come out objectively,” he added. “That creates trust, that creates accountability, that says to the many, many good officers that they know the whole truth will come out from what they saw from their literal perspective and it says to any officer who doesn’t yet fully understand their responsibilities they will be held accountable and there will be consequences.”
The city’s guidelines previously said the release of footage could only be released at the police commissioner’s approval.
The footage will reportedly be available to civilians involved in the incident and their families before it is released online.
The reform comes as thousands of protesters have demonstrated in New York as part of the nationwide rallies and marches over police brutality sparked by the killing of George Floyd.
Floyd died in Minneapolis police custody on Memorial Day after an officer knelt on his neck for several minutes. The officer and three others have been fired and charged.
De Blasio has taken sharp criticism over his handling of the protests in New York, including from The New York Times editorial board and Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D).